The following relates generally to mechanisms which allow the deployment of windows and the like from a closed position to an opened position, particularly during emergencies.
Emergencies frequently require escape from the room one happens to be in, rather than allowing migration from one room to another for conventional exit as through doors. Such emergency situations, particularly fires require that the lower that one is to the ground, the less smoke and heat one endures. When one is trapped in the basement for example, very few buildings have doors allowing access to the exterior, and people located in the basement may therefore be trapped.
The instant application is directed to a device particularly suitable for use with basement type windows which allow the deployment of the window from a closed position to an opened one with a modicum of effort, and can be easily manipulated by the young, the old, and the infirm.
While it has been known in the past to provide emergency doors or accessories for windows and the like to assist in the escape process, the known prior art manifests difficulties when contrast with the instant invention.
The following citations reflect the state-of-the-art of which applicant is aware, insofar as these citations appear to be germane to the process at hand.
______________________________________ 3,210,066 Czaplicke et al. 3,391,674 Burleigh 3,462,609 Armstrong 3,739,527 Schubach 3,722,938 Bauer et al. 3,724,130 Bogue 4,283,885 Remick et al. ______________________________________
Each of the citations teaches the use of a mechanism associated with actuation of a door, window, or the like. For example, Bauer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,938 teaches the use of a familiar emergency exit door and unlatching mechanism that includes first and second pivotable members 38 interconnected by bar 16 as shown in FIG. 2.
The patent to Remick et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,885 teaches the use of a similar type of emergency release closure capable of being disposed on mass transit vehicles, with the operative features shown in detail in FIG. 2.
The patent to Schubach U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,527 is of interest since he teaches the use of a lever handle 32, 33 and a means for rotating same which allows rotation of an associated window.
The patent to Czaplicke et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,210,066 teaches the use of a linkage structure which includes a foot operated apparatus for door actuation, in which the curved surface 26 interacts with a plurality of links suitably pivoted to allow the door to move from a first to a second position.
The remaining citations show the state-of-the-art further and are believed to diverge even more from that which is defined as the essence of the invention as will be disclosed hereinafter.
More particularly, the instant invention is distinguished over the known prior art by modifying a conventional basement type window by first removing the conventional means for attachment of the window to its associated frame, attaching on two upper corners thereof latching means which when unlatched allows the window to pivot from a fixed closed position outwardly away from the room associated with the window, and removable pin means disposed on a lower edge of the window adapted to reside within appropriate recess means on the lower portion of the frame so that the entire window may be removed. In a further form of the invention, an associated linkage is provided with the latching means that permits easy actuation of the latching means from a first to a second position. In addition, the invention contemplates as one of the features thereof the utilization of a ladder which when deployed from a stored to a in use position, automatically unlatches the latching means to permit instantaneous removal of the window.